Anderson’s Corner

History of the William Anderson General Store

Standing at the corner of Southwest 157 Ave and Southwest 232nd Street in Miami for over a hundred years, the wood-framed structure known as Anderson’s Corner was built by William Anderson in the early 1900s. The years between 1910 and 1920 saw Dade County’s population quadruple in size. The landscape was quickly evolving from deserted wetland swamps to rows of fields as rudimentary roads and auspicious homesteaders found their way south. Draining the lowlands provided ample opportunities for agricultural endeavors, and it was not long before extensive development was underway.

Because transportation between disparate settlements throughout the county was difficult, general stores provided a level of convenience to residents in outlying areas, including many farmers. Anderson’s Corner is the last of these pioneer-era commercial properties still standing in Miami-Dade County.

William Anderson

William Anderson came from Indiana in the early days of the twentieth century to join his friend and hunting companion, Charles Grossman, the first settler in the area. Silver Palm was known for its extensive pinelands and plentiful game. Anderson returned to Florida to join William Julius Krome in his Cape Sable Expedition in 1902, which was formed to survey a route for Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway to Flamingo, now in Everglades National Park. Thereafter, Anderson established a homestead just east of his friend and just south of the Perrine land grant.

For some time, Anderson operated a commissary car for the Drake Lumber Company, providing staples and necessities for workers in remote lumber camps. In 1911, he purchased a five-acre parcel of land from Lilburn R. Nixon, who was also part of Krome’s Cape Sable Expedition.

The William Anderson General Store

Using lumber from the Drake Lumber Company, he constructed the William Anderson General Merchandise Store in 1912, which included living quarters on the second floor. One structural engineer who surveyed the building in the 1970s noted its unusual interior design, which was described as “ribbed like the hull of a wooden ship,” and believed the design helped the building survive unscathed through the years.

“Anderson’s Corner,” as it would later be known, officially and unofficially by his neighbors, was strategically located across from the Silver Palm School at the intersection of two well-built roads. They sold a large selection of items, “from dynamite to lace,” to the nearby residents and businesses, though the only other options to purchase items were the town of Cutler Bay, some 15 miles away. The store kept long hours throughout the 1920s and 1930s—from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and until well past midnight on Saturday for “social purposes.”

In 1912, William Anderson married Atka Vandora Newlan, who had three children from her previous marriage. William and Atka would have six more children together, one of whom, William Anderson Jr., ran the store until 1970. In 1916, he donated 10 acres of land to the Dade County School Board for the construction of a new consolidated school. That same year, the Redland Farm Life School opened, doubling as the community church on Sundays. The school building still stands today, now a private residence.

In 1936, when Anderson built a new store next door, the old general store building was converted into apartments. The building remained in the family until 1970, when William Anderson Jr. sold it to James and Pat Cothron.

The couple lived in the upstairs living quarters briefly while building a new home in the rear of the property. The couple rented out two apartments for $15 a week and leased the newer grocery store and filling station to Robert and Mildred Crowder. Robert died in an automobile accident in 1974, and Mildred died in 1976, reportedly in a “swimming pool accident.”

After deteriorating for several years, the older general store building was condemned in 1975 by the county. It wasn’t until after it was condemned that the Cochrons, after much research, discovered its history and made an effort to save it.

Preservation Efforts

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, the site was purchased by the county for $60,000 with plans to turn it into a cultural center and museum. Anderson’s Corner became a Miami-Dade historic site in October 1981, the first building to be officially designated as a county historic site. After sitting vacant for several years, the country sold the building to Thomas Henry, who renovated it and reopened it as an eatery in 1985. By 1986, however, the property was foreclosed by the bank. In 1988, it was leased out to restaurateur Dick Hissing and reopened as the Inn at Anderson’s Corner, although that too closed down.

Tropical fruit farmer, Joan Green, and chef Mario Martinez bought Anderson’s Corner and opened it in December 1991, which was highly praised among the farming community in the area. Just nine months later, the building was heavily damaged when Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Homestead as a Category 5 hurricane, leaving long-lasting damaging effects throughout South Florida. The storm blew the roof off the building and knocked the second floor askew.

The owners were granted $750,000 by the county to restore the building. Steel columns were installed to stabilize the building, and a new roof was put on. Unfortunately, the two had a falling out amid what was described by Green as endless bureaucratic obstacles and financial disagreements. The county pulled a $250,000, and after much litigation, the owners ended their involvement by selling to Brian Simmons and his wife, Jessica Olsen, in 1997.

Although a full renovation was planned, the couple failed to secure financing, and being small, local farmers, lacked the resources to maintain it. The building remains vacant to this day. In 2019, Anderson’s Corner was listed on the Dade Heritage Trust’s Most Endangered Sites in Miami-Dade list, along with other notable buildings such as the Deauville Hotel and Lincoln Memorial Cemetery.

You can read about Anderson’s Corner and many other abandoned places in my book, Lost Miami: Stories and Secrets Behind Magic City Ruins.

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